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Pearson

This course dives into real-world data sourcing, including making web requests, web scraping, and integrating diverse data types from APIs, files, and databases. You'll learn to parse and structure data in formats like XML and JSON, and leverage object-oriented programming to create robust data models. By the end of the course, you’ll be equipped to efficiently acquire, transform, and prepare data for advanced analysis.

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Learners who complete Data Science Fundamentals Part 1: Unit 2 will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Data Engineer
A Data Engineer builds and maintains the robust infrastructure that allows organizations to collect, process, and store vast amounts of information. This includes designing scalable data pipelines and integrating diverse data sources. For an aspiring Data Engineer, this course offers essential training in modern data acquisition techniques, including web scraping, making web requests, and leveraging APIs. You will learn to integrate various data types, parse and structure formats like XML and JSON, and apply object-oriented programming to create resilient data models. Mastering these skills, particularly the Extract Transform Load pipeline, is fundamental to preparing data for advanced analysis and ensuring data quality across an organization.
ETL Developer
An ETL Developer specializes in the Extract Transform Load process, building pipelines that move data from various sources, transform it into a usable format, and load it into target systems for analysis and reporting. This course is exceptionally well-suited for an aspiring ETL Developer, as it focuses intensely on the core competencies required for this role. You will gain hands-on experience in sourcing data from web requests, web scraping, APIs, files, and databases. Learning to parse and structure diverse data types such as XML and JSON, along with leveraging object-oriented programming for data models, directly prepares you to design and implement efficient, robust data transformation solutions.
Software Engineer Data Focus
A Software Engineer with a data focus designs and implements the software systems and infrastructure that handle data at scale, from acquisition to processing and storage. This course is exceptionally valuable for a Software Engineer seeking to specialize in data. It provides in-depth training on data sourcing techniques like web requests, web scraping, and integrating data from APIs and databases. You will learn to parse and structure complex data formats such as XML and JSON, and crucially, apply object-oriented programming to build robust data models. These transferable skills are essential for constructing efficient, scalable, and reliable data-driven applications and systems.
Integration Specialist
An Integration Specialist focuses on connecting disparate software systems and data sources, ensuring seamless data flow and communication across an enterprise. This course is perfectly aligned with the needs of an Integration Specialist. You will acquire hands-on experience in making web requests, web scraping, and integrating diverse data types from APIs, files, and databases. The ability to parse and structure data in various formats like XML and JSON is crucial for this role, as is leveraging object-oriented programming to create data models. These skills are fundamental to building robust, reliable, and efficient system integrations.
Data Architect
A Data Architect designs an organization's overall data strategy, including data flow, storage, and processing. This role typically requires an advanced degree. This course is highly relevant for an aspiring Data Architect because it imparts foundational skills in data acquisition and modeling. You will learn to integrate diverse data types from web requests, APIs, files, and databases, and understand how to manage data lineage. Proficiency in parsing and structuring data in formats like XML and JSON, coupled with leveraging object-oriented programming for data models, is essential for designing robust, scalable, and efficient data ecosystems that support organizational needs.
Data Quality Analyst
A Data Quality Analyst is responsible for ensuring the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of an organization's data, which is paramount for reliable decision-making. This course is highly relevant for an aspiring Data Quality Analyst. It deepens your understanding of where data originates and how it is processed. You will gain skills in making web requests, web scraping, and integrating data from diverse sources like APIs and files. Critically, learning to parse and structure data in formats such as XML and JSON, alongside managing data lineage, directly empowers you to identify potential data quality issues at their source and implement effective remediation strategies.
Business Intelligence Developer
A Business Intelligence Developer creates interactive dashboards, reports, and data visualizations that translate raw data into actionable insights for stakeholders. The quality of these insights depends entirely on the underlying data, making data preparation skills invaluable. This course significantly aids an aspiring Business Intelligence Developer by equipping you with the foundational knowledge of data acquisition and transformation. You will learn to source data from diverse platforms, including web requests, APIs, and databases, and understand how to parse and structure data in formats like XML and JSON. This proficiency in the Extract Transform Load pipeline ensures that the data used for BI tools is accurate, consistent, and ready for effective reporting.
Solutions Architect Data Focus
A Solutions Architect specializing in data designs comprehensive data systems and strategies that align with an organization's business objectives. This role typically requires an advanced degree. This course is highly beneficial for an aspiring Solutions Architect Data Focus, as it provides a solid foundation in the initial and critical stages of data architecture. You will delve into real-world data sourcing, including web requests, web scraping, and integrating diverse data types from APIs and databases. Mastering the parsing and structuring of data in formats such as XML and JSON, and leveraging object-oriented programming for data models, is crucial for designing scalable, efficient, and robust data solutions.
Data Governance Specialist
A Data Governance Specialist establishes and enforces policies, standards, and practices to ensure the quality, security, and usability of an organization’s data assets. Understanding the entire data lifecycle is critical for this role. This course strongly supports an aspiring Data Governance Specialist by providing foundational knowledge of data acquisition and transformation. You will learn about data sourcing, including web requests and integrating data from various platforms. The emphasis on managing data lineage and correctly parsing and structuring diverse data formats like XML and JSON directly informs how to define and implement rules for data integrity, compliance, and effective data stewardship.
Data Analyst
A Data Analyst interprets complex datasets to identify trends, patterns, and insights that drive business decisions. While often focused on analysis, a strong understanding of data provenance and structure is crucial for accurate interpretation. This course can help a Data Analyst by providing a deep dive into how data is sourced and prepared. You will learn about making web requests, web scraping, and integrating data from APIs and databases. Understanding how data is parsed and structured in formats like XML and JSON ensures you can critically evaluate data quality and reliability, enhancing your ability to perform rigorous analysis and communicate findings with confidence.
Technical Project Manager Data Focus
A Technical Project Manager with a data focus leads and oversees data-intensive projects, requiring a solid grasp of the technical processes involved. This course helps a Technical Project Manager Data Focus by providing an essential understanding of data acquisition and transformation. You will explore methods for sourcing and extracting data from various platforms, including web requests and working with APIs and databases. Understanding how data is parsed and structured in formats like XML and JSON, and the principles of the Extract Transform Load pipeline, enables you to effectively plan, scope, and manage data projects, anticipate challenges, and communicate intelligently with technical teams.
Application Programming Interface Developer
An Application Programming Interface Developer designs, builds, and maintains the interfaces that allow different software systems to communicate and exchange data. This course is relevant for an Application Programming Interface Developer due to its strong emphasis on working with APIs and data structuring. You will gain practical experience in making web requests and integrating diverse data types, understanding the mechanics of how data is exchanged. The course specifically trains you to parse and structure data in common formats like XML and JSON, and to leverage object-oriented programming to create robust data models, which are fundamental skills for both consuming and developing effective APIs.
Data Scientist
A Data Scientist extracts insights from vast datasets, builds predictive models, and communicates findings to inform strategic decisions. This role typically requires an advanced degree. For a Data Scientist, this course may be useful as it addresses a significant portion of their work: preparing data for analysis. You will learn efficient methods for data sourcing, including web requests, web scraping, and integrating data from APIs and databases. Mastering the parsing and structuring of data in formats such as XML and JSON and understanding the Extract Transform Load pipeline ensures you can consistently work with high-quality, well-structured data, which is a prerequisite for any advanced analytical endeavor.
Database Administrator
A Database Administrator manages and maintains an organization's databases, ensuring their performance, security, and integrity. While not primarily focused on database administration per se, understanding how data enters and is structured within these systems is highly beneficial. For a Database Administrator, this course may be useful by providing insight into diverse data sourcing methods, including integrating data from APIs and various file types. Through learning to parse and structure data in formats like XML and JSON, and using object-oriented programming for data models, you enhance your comprehension of data lineage and schema design, contributing to better database architecture and data quality management.
Machine Learning Engineer
A Machine Learning Engineer designs, builds, and deploys scalable machine learning systems. This role typically requires an advanced degree. While this course does not cover machine learning algorithms themselves, it may be useful for a Machine Learning Engineer by focusing on the absolutely critical upstream process of data preparation. You will gain skills in efficiently acquiring and transforming data from diverse sources, including web requests, web scraping, and APIs. Expertise in parsing and structuring data in formats like XML and JSON is foundational, as high-quality, well-prepared data is paramount for training robust and accurate machine learning models.

Reading list

We've selected 50 books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Data Science Fundamentals Part 1: Unit 2.
While not solely about OOP, this book is fundamental for any programmer, including those using OOP. It emphasizes writing readable, maintainable, and well-structured code, which is essential for effective object-oriented design. It teaches the difference between good and bad code and how to refactor, providing practical examples and insights into SOLID design principles based on OOP concepts. This crucial reference for writing high-quality code in any object-oriented language.
Often referred to as the 'Gang of Four' book, this seminal work on software design patterns in OOP. It presents a catalog of 23 classic design patterns that provide solutions to recurring design problems. Understanding these patterns is vital for designing flexible, maintainable, and reusable object-oriented systems. is more suitable for those with a foundational understanding of OOP and valuable reference for designing complex software.
Is excellent for beginners to grasp the fundamental concepts of OOP and how to apply them. It covers basics like classes, objects, encapsulation, polymorphism, abstraction, and inheritance, as well as more advanced concepts such as composition, delegation, association, and aggregation. It helps readers think in terms of objects to solve problems and is particularly useful for those transitioning from procedural programming. This book great introductory text and can serve as a foundational resource before diving into more complex topics.
Provides a comprehensive overview of data sourcing for big data. It covers best practices for data acquisition, data storage, and data processing. It is essential reading for anyone involved in big data or data science.
This widely-used textbook that provides a comprehensive introduction to database systems, covering fundamental concepts of database management. It's suitable for undergraduate and graduate students and serves as a strong foundation for understanding relational databases. The book includes material for both introductory and advanced courses.
An exhaustive reference for XSLT 2.0 and XPath 2.0, written by a leading expert in the field. is invaluable for deeply understanding and utilizing these transformation and querying languages. It's a core resource for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals.
Provides a beginner-friendly introduction to data modeling, covering fundamental concepts, techniques, and diagramming. It includes hands-on exercises and self-tests to reinforce learning, making it suitable for high school and undergraduate students, as well as those new to the field.
Focuses on teaching you how to think in terms of objects, which is crucial for effective OOP. It's an excellent resource for beginners, especially those with a background in procedural languages, to understand how to build complex systems using basic OOP concepts. It's considered a must-read for anyone starting their OOP journey and complements practical coding exercises well.
Focuses on the security testing of APIs, providing insights into how to identify and exploit vulnerabilities. It's a crucial resource for security professionals and developers who want to build more secure APIs by understanding potential attack vectors. It's highly relevant for contemporary API development concerns.
The first volume in a series, this book offers a collection of universal data models applicable across various industries. It's a practical guide providing pre-built patterns for common business concepts like parties, products, and orders. This is an excellent reference for data modelers at all levels, particularly useful for jump-starting modeling projects.
Provides a comprehensive overview of data sourcing for data visualization. It covers best practices for data acquisition, data cleaning, and data preparation for data visualization. It is essential reading for anyone involved in data visualization or data science.
Provides a comprehensive introduction to web scraping using Python. It covers fundamental concepts and techniques, making it ideal for gaining a broad understanding of the topic. The book widely recognized resource and often recommended for beginners in web scraping. It's a valuable reference for anyone starting out or looking to solidify their foundational knowledge.
Provides indispensable guidelines and best practices for writing robust, efficient, and well-designed programs in Java, a widely used object-oriented language. It covers various aspects of Java programming through a series of actionable 'items,' explaining what to do, what not to do, and why. While Java-specific, many of the principles and patterns discussed are applicable to OOP in general. The 3rd edition is updated to cover modern Java features. This highly recommended read for Java developers looking to deepen their understanding of effective OOP.
Provides a comprehensive overview of data sourcing strategies. It covers best practices for data acquisition, data quality, and data governance. It is essential reading for anyone involved in data sourcing or data management.
Considered a definitive guide to XML Schema, this book provides in-depth coverage of designing and implementing XML schemas. It's essential for anyone needing to define and validate XML document structures rigorously and is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professionals.
Provides a comprehensive overview of data sourcing for business intelligence, covering data extraction, integration, and analysis techniques. It is particularly relevant for those interested in using data to drive business decisions.
This comprehensive guide provides a step-by-step approach to data transformation, covering topics such as data quality assessment, data cleaning, data integration, and data standardization. It is ideal for both business and IT professionals who need to understand and implement data transformation projects.
Demonstrates how to develop object-oriented software using a test-driven development (TDD) approach. It shows how writing tests first can guide the design of well-structured and maintainable object-oriented code. This book is highly practical and provides valuable insights into the synergy between TDD and object-oriented design. It's particularly useful for developers interested in agile methodologies and building robust software.
A comprehensive reference covering XML, DTDs, schemas, XSLT, XPath, and other related technologies. is valuable for gaining a broad understanding and serves as a handy reference for developers. It's suitable for those with some basic programming knowledge.
Geared towards a data science audience, this book offers a modern guide to web scraping with Python, emphasizing best practices. It covers the larger context of web technologies and how scraping fits into the data science workflow. is excellent for those with some programming background who want to apply web scraping to data analysis tasks.
Offers a product-oriented approach to API design, emphasizing how to create APIs that provide value and a great developer experience. It covers the entire design lifecycle and discusses various API styles like REST, gRPC, and GraphQL. It's a strong choice for gaining a broad understanding of API design in a business context.
While not solely focused on data modeling, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the systems and concepts underlying modern data management. It discusses various data models in the context of distributed systems, scalability, and reliability, offering valuable insights for architects and engineers.
Is essential for understanding how to improve the design of existing codebases, a common task in software development. It provides a catalog of refactorings and explains how to apply them to make code more understandable, maintainable, and less prone to bugs. While not exclusively about OOP, many refactoring techniques are applied to object-oriented code to improve its structure and design. This book is highly practical and valuable for anyone working on real-world software projects.
Offers a comprehensive tutorial and reference for XQuery 3.1, the W3C standard language for querying XML data. It covers querying XML databases and extracting information effectively. It's suitable for those with a basic understanding of XML and key resource for data professionals.
Offers a more accessible introduction to OOP using C++ compared to Stroustrup's book. It systematically introduces OOP principles alongside the C++ language features. It is often used as a textbook and is known for its clear explanations and numerous examples, making it suitable for beginners learning OOP with C++.
Given the close relationship between microservices and APIs, this book is highly relevant for understanding how to secure microservices architectures and the APIs that connect them. It covers securing communication between services and deploying microservices behind an API gateway. It's valuable for those working with or planning to adopt a microservices approach.
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This practical guide offers a blend of API design theory and hands-on exercises. It focuses on building popular APIs and fostering a thriving developer ecosystem. The book includes expert advice and case studies, making it highly relevant for those looking to create successful and widely adopted APIs.
An updated version of the hands-on guide, incorporating the latest libraries and techniques in Python web scraping. This edition provides current practical examples and covers advanced topics. It's a valuable resource for both beginners and those looking to update their skills with contemporary methods.
Explores reusable data model patterns for common business structures. It helps in applying data modeling rules in an enterprise context and provides high-level models for various business areas. This valuable resource for experienced modelers and professionals looking for proven solutions to recurring modeling challenges.
A guide to best practices for implementing and working with DITA. is essential for technical writing teams and individuals involved in creating and managing DITA content. It offers practical advice for real-world DITA projects.
Focuses on practical object-oriented design principles using the Ruby programming language. It emphasizes creating flexible, maintainable, and well-designed code through clear explanations and realistic examples. While the examples are in Ruby, the design principles are broadly applicable to other object-oriented languages. This book is great for developers looking for a practical guide to writing better object-oriented code.
Another excellent resource for Java developers, this book explores how to effectively integrate XML into Java applications. It covers various XML technologies and their application within the Java ecosystem.
Presents proven patterns for designing APIs that facilitate integration through loosely coupled message exchanges. It's a valuable resource for architects and developers working on complex integration scenarios, offering patterns to simplify the process.
Focuses specifically on Scrapy, a powerful Python framework for web scraping and crawling. It provides a deep understanding of the framework, covering everything from building spiders to deploying projects. This book is essential for those who plan to work with Scrapy for larger or more complex scraping tasks.
Focuses on a responsibility-driven approach to object-oriented design, emphasizing the roles, responsibilities, and collaborations of objects. It provides a practical methodology for designing object-oriented software by thinking about how objects interact. This book valuable resource for improving your object design skills and creating more flexible and understandable systems.
Similar to his C++ book, Lafore's book on OOP in Java provides a clear and step-by-step introduction to object-oriented concepts using the Java language. It's a good resource for beginners who want to learn OOP through practical Java examples. can serve as a solid starting point for understanding OOP fundamentals in a widely used language.
Provides a solid introduction to XML fundamentals, including its purpose, syntax, and associated standards like CSS, XSL, XLink, and XPointer. It's an excellent starting point for anyone new to XML, explaining concepts with real-life examples. It helps solidify basic understanding and is suitable for beginners.
This practical guide focuses on how to transform data for business intelligence applications. It covers data integration, data combining, and data harmonization. It valuable resource for data analysts and business intelligence professionals who need to transform data for reporting and analysis.
Offers a solid introduction to the principles and practices of designing effective web APIs. It's particularly useful for those new to API design, providing practical guidance and examples. It serves as a valuable reference for understanding the characteristics of well-designed APIs and the entire API design lifecycle.
Provides practical insights and in-depth explanations of the Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA). It's crucial for technical writers and information architects working with structured content and is highly relevant to contemporary technical documentation practices.
Is tailored for C# developers and covers XML processing and data access within the .NET framework. It includes working with XMLDocument, XDocument, LINQ to XML, and integrating XML with databases.
Provides a comprehensive guide to securing XML-based web services and applications. It covers security threats and vulnerabilities related to XML and offers practical solutions, highly relevant for professionals in cybersecurity and web development.
Introduces Domain-Driven Design (DDD), an approach to software development that focuses on creating an object-oriented model of the domain problem. It provides strategic and tactical patterns for designing complex systems by deeply understanding the business domain. This book is more advanced and is particularly relevant for those working on large and complex software projects where the domain logic is central. It's a valuable resource for experienced developers and architects.
Focuses specifically on applying object-oriented principles in Python 3. It covers core OOP concepts like classes, inheritance, and polymorphism within the context of Python's syntax and idioms. It's a practical guide for Python developers who want to write more structured and maintainable code using OOP. This book is suitable for those already familiar with Python basics and looking to incorporate OOP into their projects.
An approachable guide to SQL for beginners, focusing on using SQL for data analysis and storytelling. It uses PostgreSQL for examples, but the concepts are broadly applicable. is excellent for those new to databases and SQL.
Takes a practical, hands-on approach to web scraping with Python, suitable for beginners. It covers popular libraries like BeautifulSoup and Scrapy through real-world examples. This book good resource for those who prefer learning by doing and want to build a portfolio of web scraping projects.
Provides a collection of solutions and techniques for common SQL problems. It's a practical guide for developers looking to expand their SQL skills and handle complex queries and data manipulation tasks.

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